Busy times for Idris Elba

With several major film projects in the pipeline and a third series of BBC One’s Luther readying for transmission, Idris Elba is very much the actor du jour.

Towards the end of this year however, Elba will be wearing the producer’s hat for a change, when he gets behind the camera for One Square Mile, a forthcoming feature directed by Michael Caton-Jones.

The film is adapted by Leon F Butler (who also produces) from his earlier short of the same name, and explores the stories behind four people who all live near each other.

Elba has also recently completed filming his role as the eponymous iconic revolutionary in Justin Chadwick’s much-anticipated Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, a biopic chronicling the life of the extraordinary campaigner and politician.

The actor has also been working with director Guillermo del Toro on a sci-fi action adventure film Pacific Rim, which sees giant robots controlled by humans trying to fend off an alien attack.

And earlier this month he completed filming on Second Coming, with Nadine Marshall, a feature from director Debbie Tucker Green and Hillbilly Films about family, the impact of pregnancy and a woman struggling with her mental state. The film was supported by the BFI Film Fund for first feature directors, and developed and co-financed with Film4.

And of course, for Luther fans, the troubled cop returns to the small screen for a third series, this time with a new arch nemesis played by David O’Hara.

And all this on top of his burgeoning career as a DJ.

Further information on One Square Mile can be found on Production Intelligence, the online database of advance production news from The Knowledge.